The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought directions to the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct general elections through ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela refused to entertain the plea, noting that the issue had already been settled by the Supreme Court. The petitioner, Upendra Nath Dalai, had challenged the continued use of EVMs in the country’s electoral process.
The bench observed that the Supreme Court, in its ruling last year, had categorically held that EVMs are “simple, secured and user-friendly.” The apex court had also underlined that voters, candidates, their representatives, and election officials were familiar with the functioning of EVMs, thereby ensuring credibility of the system.
Referring to earlier judgments, the Delhi High Court stressed that the concerns raised over the reliability of EVMs had been repeatedly addressed by the judiciary. It highlighted that the incorporation of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system had further strengthened the principle of vote verifiability and enhanced accountability in the electoral process.
The court thus held that there was no ground to revisit the settled issue and dismissed the PIL.
